New Student
by litter bug
Summary: A Gokusen 2 Fic. My first ever... 3D gets a new student who knows who Yankumi REALLY is. But Yankumi knows a few things herself...I would love some reviews.
1. Chapter 1

"Ohayo!" Yankumi said as she waltzed into the staff room. She received several scattered and mumbled greetings (as was the routine on Mondays) as she made her way to her workspace in the center of the room. Fumbling slightly, she set down her books and swiped a crisp red folder from her desk, examining it carefully. She opened the flap and scanned its contents: Koshino Hiromi. Age: 18 Father: steel worker. Mother: deceased. No picture.

"Eh?" she said aloud, wrinkling her brow.

"Ah, Yamaguchi-sensei," hollered the head teacher from across the room. "Class 3-D has a new student. Koshino Hiromi. "

"My class? Kyoto, perhaps another class has more room…" Yankumi rambled. She knew her class too well. They would not take kindly to a new student. They were class 3-D; everyone else was an outsider, and unwelcome. What if this student had transferred from Ara High? What if it was someone her students had fought with?

"Oh believe me," crowed the head teacher. "Yours was the only class with an open seat. If you can't handle one more student..." Kyoto flashed her a look that spelled out "challenge."

"Hai," nodded Yankumi shortly, "We'll be fine. But where is the rest of the file? This is only the first page."

"That's all he enrolled with. I'm leaving it to you to get the rest of the information, unless you can't handle that either…" The two locked stares across the room in what had also become a Monday ritual of challenges and empty threats. After some time, Yankumi managed a smile, bowed slightly, gathered her things and headed across the courtyard to her class. This was going to be a long day…

Slidding open the door, Yankumi shouted over the noise of class 3-D. "Ohayo!" she greeted cheerfully. The response of the students equaled that of the staff earlier that morning.

"Shizuka-ni!" she called out, hushing her students. She set her things on the desk as her students settled into their usual places and habits, tossing a ball here, kicking a classmate there. _This is going to require more than their usual attention_, she thought. _Best to get it over with._

"Today," she began loudly, "we have a new student coming."

"EEEEHHH!?" roared the class.

"What new student? From where? We don't want him!" came shouts from every angle.

She tried to continue; "His name is Koshino Hiromi…he's 18 years old…" They were yelling now, indiscernible angry voices meshing together into one.

Yankumi crossed her arms and stood before the black board and gave them her Devil Face. "There's nothing that can be done about it, so shut up and make it work," she chirped in a cheerful voice. "Got it?" The class shifted in their seats, mumbling their choice phrases and profanities.

"Oi," came a strong voice from the back. "What kind of attitude is that?" Yabuki Hayato stood from his seat and looked over a shocked group of young men. His classmates looked at each other, surprised at Yabuki's defense of the new student. "Yankumi's right," Yabuki drawled slowly. "We should make the new guy feel…_welcome_."

"Ahhhh!" they cheered. Now they understood. "Welcoming" new students was something they were great at. Yankumi was not amused.

"Oi!" she shouted, standing on a desk to gain the upper hand on Yabuki, who was significantly taller than she was. "Don't go causing trouble right away!" They weren't paying any attention. She continued shouting, waving her arms in an attempt to quiet them when the door to the classroom slid open with a thump.

All eyes were focused on the open door, as students quickly took their seats and Yankumi hopped down from the desk, prepared to welcome the new member of her precious class…_Precious, _she thought, glancing back at their brooding eyes. _Right_.

Koshino Hiromi stepped into class 3-D for the first time and was, to say the least, a disappointment. He was just under Yankumi's height, with a long and lean torso dressed in a baggy t-shirt and black cargo pants. Compact muscles wrapped in smooth skin coursed down arms that held only a school jacket slung over one shoulder. Jet black hair tied into a topknot added only a few inches to his height, as a rather feminine face stared long and hard back at the 28 pairs of eyes that met his gaze.

Every jaw dropped as silence filled the room. They were all thinking the same thing: pansy. He was small and delicate looking, though slightly muscular, and presented no challenge. They would not be able to _welcome_ him as they had originally planned, they were sure of it. He was too weak…might kill him. Takeda looked like a man's-man compared to this guy. They never pinpointed who said that aloud first, but someone did and the class erupted with laughs and jeers. Yankumi turned and glared towards the class, who quickly lowered their voices and she faced the student for the first time.

"Koshino Hiromi, I'd like to…" Yankumi stopped. In an instant, her voice left her and her body froze. "Uuh…ano…welcome," she mumbled, not taking her eyes (now very wide) off of the new member. A silence like death filled the room, as everyone noted the response of their "Nothing-Shakes-Me teacher. Koshino stared back blankly at the stunned teacher for a respectable amount of time before breaking the silence.

"Koshino Hiromi," he mumbled in a soft voice. "Hajimemashite." Yankumi continued to stare, her brow furrowing then un-furrowing, eyes widening then narrowing as she examined the student, who held her gaze.

"Oi, Yankumi!" came Hyuuga's voice. "You're freaking us out." Yankumi broke from her stupor and glanced quickly over the class in what only three students noted as a panic and the rest merely noted as odd. She selected a seat in the second row and directed Koshino to it, much to the dismay of the other students.

"Come on, Yankumi!" Tsuchiya shouted, banging on the desk. "Let him sit back here with us! We want to get to know him!" The class broke into chorus again, shouting and banging their desks in rhythm; Koshino sat unfazed in the front, eyes forward, arms crossed.

"Oi! That's enough!" Yankumi shouted. Only three students noted the stress in her voice as she turned toward the blackboard to start the lesson. The chants and calls continued as Yankumi wiped her brow. _I'm in for it with this one_, she thought.

Once again, Yabuki stood to address the class. "Oi!" he shouted, silencing the mob. Yankumi turned, prepared for the worst.

"…that's enough."

Yabuki sat back down in his desk and nodded towards Yankumi. "Are you gonna teach today, or what?" She glanced quickly at him, a silent thanks in her eyes, and turned back again to what she was doing. _Here we go…_

Yabuki landed hard back into his seat and with eyes forward, acknowledged the vibe from his best friend, Odagiri Ryu.

"She's unsteady…stressed…off guard," he mumbled. Ryu nodded. The two of them had noticed her panic, her stress as she dealt with their newest class member.

"Do you think she knows him from her…other job?" Yabuki said in a softer tone.

"Could anything else shake her that bad?" Odagiri muttered.

"She's in for it if he is. Let's keep an eye on him for now. Hands off him until we know more, ne? "

"Hai." By the time the last bell rang, the rest of 3-D had received word: no one was to touch Koshino until they knew more. As the students shoved out of the crowded classroom, there was another exchange between the two old friends as one pointed out to the other that Koshino remained in his seat while the others left. Odagiri and Yabuki turned the corner out of the class and waited there. They would be unable to hear anything unless things escalated, and they waited in heavy silence for events to unfold.


	2. Chapter 2

Inside the graffiti covered classroom, Koshino and Yankumi sat silently, staring intensely at one another. He pretended to pick his fingernails as she approached him slowly.

"I know who you are," he mumbled, with a certain cockiness, his eyes wandering towards the left wall.

"Hm," Yankumi stopped. She faced him with…what was that? Was she being arrogant? "Well then I suppose we know each other, don't we?"

Koshino looked back her, slightly surprised, eyes wide. He had noted her panic when he walked in. He had, with too much confidence, assumed it was because she knew he knew that she had a whole 'nother life outside of this one. But that wasn't it at all. He had another life outside of this one, too…and she had already figured him out.

He sat up straight in his desk, hands flat on the desk. "I could get you fired," he said threatened in terror.

"But you don't want to," she interrupted. "I won't tell," she stated firmly. "You're secret is safe with me. Anyone with _honor_ would keep a secret that could affect someone's life in such a huge way, weather you like the person or not. It's just the respectful thing to do. Don't you agree?" Koshino sat back in his chair, and relaxed as her words sank in. _"Your secret is safe with me…"_

"Hai," he said. "The right thing to do."_ I think I like her already. _ "Arigato." He sat there with her for a moment in silence, each taking the other in. Secrets. Personal motives. They were alike. Maybe too much. He got up to leave, walking towards the back of the class; he was feeling a little better when she stopped him.

"Don't expect any special treatment," she said, preparing to walk out the opposite door. "If you want to be one of these guys, that's how I'll treat you…accept their ways...settle things…their way."

He stood for a moment, almost unsure.

"Hai." He nodded, and walked out the door.

Yankumi walked out the other door and stopped just outside of it. Knowing exactly who was there in the shadows, she spoke to her students.

"I can take care of myself, you know." Odagiri and Yabuki emerged from the dark hall, eyes laden with concern.

"What was that all about?" Yabuki asked.

"Nothing," Yankumi shrugged. "Just bonding with the new student."

Her quirky smile was back in its usual place and all signs of her previous panic had dissipated.

"Is this guy gonna' cause us trouble?" Odagiri asked. She knew what he meant by it, and wondered a minute at exactly what to say, knowing that they would accept it for what it was.

"No. I don't think so," she paused for a moment. "He'll make a good classmate." She looked at them both sternly, and they returned her gaze.

"We'll see," they answered in unison. They turned to leave, listening to their teacher shout from behind "Don't get into too much trouble right away!"

Odagiri stopped. "He has to survive us before he thinks he can be one of us." He smiled a childish smile and she glared at him. Sensing mistrust but no malice, she sent them on their way to welcome their new classmate.

Yankumi entered her classroom Tuesday morning as her usual chipper self, shouting "Ohayo!" over the rowdy bunch of boys she had come to love. She scanned the room as she placed her things on the desk, making sure every one was present. Koshino sat quietly in the second row right where he had spent the previous day. He avoided her eyes and she moved on over the room, making purposeful eye contact with Yabuki, Odagiri, Tsuchiya and Hyuga in the back. They nodded at her in unison; it had already started.

She looked back at Koshino. No bruises. No makeup. He hadn't shaved his head. He was dressed normally…Had they really begun his welcome? His initiation as a real member of 3-D? _Hmm…_ "Koshino," she called out.

"Mooooo," he responded. Yankumi was taken aback. A wave of laughter rode throughout the class. So it had started. _Mooo?_ She thought. _They're going easy on him_?

"Koshino?" She said hesitantly. "Moooooooooo," he answered back, emotionless. She looked at him closely, trying to gauge his thoughts. He made only the slightest eye contact, smirked, and looked away. He understood what was going on. He was at their mercy. What ever 3-D said would go for the rest of the week, at least, if he wanted to be part of this class and not a total outsider. And she had promised him no special treatment, no special defense…in spite of what only she knew. _Is Koshino strong enough for this?_ She wondered to herself. Allowing herself a brief moment of to remember, she thought back on all her training with Kyo, the bullying she had resisted as a child, the hardships she had overcome. She looked back at Koshino. He would be fine.

Things progressed and Yankumi caught on. Tuesday he had to "moo" at the mention of his name. He gave us his lunch to Yabuki and his free time to Tsuchiya's math homework. He was a delivery man for Takeda, who wanted to send flowers to Maki-chan….then chocolate…then a teddy bear…then picture he had drawn and many other trinkets until Maki-chan had returned a message (via Koshino) cursing Take for not delivering these things himself. When the letter was read aloud to all of 3-D, Koshino was not allowed to laugh. That was hard. Wednesday brought a rickshaw and joyrides around the school, with Koshino pulling ferociously, but never complaining.

They had discovered, in the midst of all these things, that Koshino was rather odd. He shrugged off when touched, and never changed for PE. His skin was smooth all around, and he had a baby face. He wore a strange chest plate, like a catchers guard, saying it was for a heart problem. His voice was always soft, eyes scanning, like he was always on edge. At first, he trusted no one, and his shifty ways made them quite uneasy. Still, as they became accustomed to one another, they attributed his quirks to just being weird. Still, Yabuki and Odagiri noticed that every now and then, his eyes smiled more than his face and there was a strangeness to it. The smiling eyes didn't match the face and they couldn't pinpoint why, but it through them off. Then just like that, he had his guard up again and the smiling eyes vanished. _None of that mattered_, they had decided together. _This isn't determined by looks or quirks. _

On Thursday, Yabuki gave him Koshino a free choice acitivty with these instructions: make it funny, make it loud and don't get caught. They had to see, after all, if he could get out of what he could get himself into. He did just that and more. With skill no one thought possible, Koshino set to work. In record time, he had dismantled and reassembled the head teachers VW bug, reorienting the entire frame. He had lifted the body off the chassis and rotated it 180 degrees and reattached everything. All the forward drive gears would now be reverse and what was reverse was the only forward traveling gear. Koshino was beginning to grow on his classmates. Friday brought the final tasks.

The class brought Koshino to a small soba joint several blocks from school, a place they knew.

"See that soba shack?" Tsuchiya pointed to small street booth occupied by a brown haired girl, tired from working in the hot sun. Koshino nodded, and looked up in surprise when Hyuga placed a small club in his hands. "Knock it over."

"Eh?" Koshino looked appalled. "Knock it over?"

"We're hungry," whined Hyuga. "And broke!" Takeda chimed in. "Food…money…or both," Odagiri rested his arm on Koshino's shoulder. "It's not so hard."

Koshino dropped the club. "No," came a firm response.

"EEHHH?" The five-some glared at their would-be classmate. "You wanna' tell us NO?!"

"I won't do it. That's stupid." When they didn't seem to understand, he explained. "That's a tired old woman. I don't steal for fun, and I don't use clubs. Fists only." He kicked the weapon away and took a stance. "No," he said again.

Furious, they grabbed Koshino and drug him around the building, shouting and cursing. Yabuki slammed the small young man against the wall and got in right in his face.

"It's knock it over or get knocked over." Yabuki his him hard once across the face. Blood poured from a slit in Koshino's lip, but he stayed standing, emotionless and staring him eye to eye.

"I won't." Odagiri stepped forward, grabbing his collar. "Why? Eh?" His voice was a whisper, hot on Koshino's face. "You're about to get beat for the sake of some one you don't know, you never met. It's five on one. Do you think you could win?"

Koshino remained in his position, not moving as Odagiri attempted to push him back. "It's not about winning," Koshino muttered, his voice low.

Another blow from Yabuki moved in and met squarely with…the wall. Koshino had dodged with a second to spare. Odagiri grabbed at his jacket with both hands, and Koshino reacted, hitting both off him with surprising force and pushing his opponent to the ground. Without waiting for the others to take their turn hitting him, Koshino attacked, his light frame tripping Tsuchiya easily (as he is tall, he's also clumsy).

"It's about being right." Hyuga lunged at the fighter, missing sorely. Koshino grabbed Hyuga by the wrist and twisted it until the boy doubled over, tapping the ground. With two on the ground and one in his grip, Koshino looked up at Takeda, who stood against the wall, far too relaxed.

"Well?" Koshino said expectantly. "Don't want to have a go?" Takeda placed his hands behind his head and smiled.

"I don't think it's necessary." Takeda paused and looked up. "How was that?" He shouted into nothingness.

"That was great," sounded a female voice. A red track suit flashed down from above, and a glasses wearing pig-tailed teacher straightened herself before tending to the students on the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to the people who reviewed! Like I said, this is my first ever fic, so you can be brutally honest. -) **

"You can…uuhh…let go of his wrist now," Yankumi said, softly pulling Koshino's hands away from Hyuga. Yabuki, Tsuchiya and Odagiri picked themselves up off the ground, dusting here and there.

"Happy now?!" Yabuki yelled at Yankumi. "Busted my hand…" He gingerly touched his own hand before turning to Koshino, who was completely dumbfounded. "You have a lot more strength I would have thought."

"You're such a baby," Yankumi teased, passing Yabuki to examine Koshino's bleeding lip.

"You ok? You did well, I was surprised." Koshino flashed back and forth over the six of them, all now relaxed (except for Yabuki, who was muttering something about a crazy teacher) and chatting amiably with one another.

"Some one want to tell me what the HELL is going on?!" Koshino shouted, fists still clenched. They all stopped and looked at him: one teacher, 4 bruised students and one relaxed Takeda.

"We had to see if you were really 3-D material. We had to test you," said Takeda.

"We had to make sure… you had at least that much honor. That you could stand up when it was you alone. " Yankumi socked him playfully in the shoulder.

"WE?" Koshino retorted. "You were in on this!?" The students laughed. "This was her idea!" Koshino looked in awe at his sensei.

"What kind of teacher are you?" he shook his head and slid down to the ground, smirking and touching his lip. Yankumi knelt beside him.

"No special treatment, I said." She looked at him intently, and he remembered that day in the classroom. _Your secret is safe with me. _"You are my student. And these…" she motioned toward the scuffed up gentlemen behind her, "are your classmates. No matter what."

Koshino looked up at them. "No matter what?" There was a seriousness to his question that they hadn't expected.

"Hai," responded Odagiri. "No matter what." Koshino looked towards Yankumi and raised an eyebrow. She shook her head at him ever so slightly, and he read her eyes. _Not yet._

_Right,_ he thought. _Not just yet._

Yabuki and Odagiri exchanged glances and shifted uneasily. Had anyone else seen the exchange and had just taken place between Koshino and Yankumi? Odagiri looked at Takeda, who was grumbling about being hungry. Tsuchiya and Hyuga were dusting eachother off; Tsuchiya was simultaneously straightening a fan blade that had bent in their scuffle.

_I guess no one else caught that_, Odagiri signaled to Yabuki, who was nursing his hand.

_Are you surprised?_ Yabuki replied with a look and a rolling of his eyes.

After a little more jesting and joking, a little more explaining and complaining (they tried to blame the rickshaw on Yankumi, too) the boys picked themselves up, dusted off and headed there separate ways into the night, with promises of "See you in class on Monday."

Yabuki and Odagiri walked slowly home together that night, pondering all that had happened over the week. Koshino, or Shino they would call him now, was an ok guy, a classmate, a friend. Still, while they felt him trustworthy, neither could shake off the slightest tingling feeling that there was still something off. They would watch him, it was decided, and Yankumi, until they could explain these little glances that happened between them. Yabuki still thought Shino had something to do with Yankumi's "other job," but Odagiri wasn't so sure. They would have to wait and see. They would take shifts over the next week and keep an eye out for anything strange.

Finding out where he lived had not been easy, but they'd managed it. They had asked around, but no one seemed to have ever seen the small framed boy they described…anywhere. They snuck into the school staff room and looked at the records, but to no avail; no address was listed. So they did the next best thing…they stalked him. Odagiri was chosen (in a game of rock paper scissors, best of 27) to follow him home at a distance and report back to Yabuki and the others if something interesting came up. As soon as the bell rang Monday, he set into action.

_Man, this guy walks fast, _thought Odagiri. A casual and lazy walker himself, he was having a hard time staying unnoticed and keeping up with Koshino's near jog at the same time. Just as he had gotten comfortable with Shino's pace, the classmate stopped abruptly, removed his school jacket, loosened his frazzled topknot and ducked into a ramen shop on the corner across from a tree lined park. Odagiri proceeded carefully, leaning against a nicely positioned tree, straining to see through the dusty window of the restaurant. He noted several apartments above the shop adorned with barred windows and rusty fire escapes, and quickly concluded that one must have been Shino's. No longer able to see Shino through the window and not spying any other entrance to the dwellings above, Odagiri walked towards the ramen shop.

_ If Shino had just walked in, he either works there or lives above, so someone in there must know something about him. _Ducking under the lanterns that hung in the doorway, he made his brushed past several customers and scanned the room. No Shino; no obvious doors leading up to the apartments…perhaps he had made a mistake. Tired of the guessing game, he sat at a table near the door and waited for the hostess, the only hostess, who was clearing another table to his right. With her arms full of dishes and eyes focused on balancing her load, she approached clumsily and asked for his drink order. Noting what he asked for and without looking up, she disappeared back to the kitchen to deposit the dishes and returned shortly with a glass of ice water and a small paper tablet, ready to take his order.

Odagiri sipped at his water a moment while his waitress greeted another group of customers that had just entered.

"Mm, no food," stated Odagiri, remembering suddenly that he had no money; "But do you know a Koshino Hiromi? He might live upstairs, I just saw him come in…does he work here…" Odagiri's voice trailed off as he made eye contact with the girl for the first time and noted the new expression on the girls face. Her eyes were wide, and her face had become pale, even in the warmth of the restaurant. She froze in her spot and stared at him intensely, as though he might attack at any moment.

"Oda…Odagiri…." she stuttered out. This caught his attention. He sat up straight and looked at her hard. Her straight black hair was tied back under a bandana and her small frame gleamed with the sweat of her work. Though muscular for a girl, she had only the slightest of feminine features…attractive, but not pretty in a strange way. He continued to asses her with concentrated eyes. She knew him, but how? After another few seconds, he had determined that he must know her too; she looked strikingly familiar, but to whom or from when he could not say. He did not associate with girls often.

"Do I know you?" Odagiri finally managed.

"Ah…no. You don't. Only…uh, well…I know you…well; not really, just seen you…heard you…heard...someone say your name….somewhere, once…" She was shaking so badly now that she had dropped her tablet, and bent to pick it up, fumbling and mumbling all the way along.

"Koshino…you saw him come in? He…he lives..upstairs. But he's not there now," she stammered quickly.

"But I saw him come in," Odagiri pointed out in a coy manner.

"He left already… out the back…just came in, then out. He's hardly ever here, in fact I think he's moving soon."

"Uh-huh," Odagiri nodded. _Yea right, he left_. "Well could you give me his address? I could leave a note under his door…" He was sure he could get something out of her if he played his cards right.

"I don't know which apartment is his, I just know he lives there…It's not like we're friends, he comes through our entrance." She had moved to the side now, avoiding his eyes and trying her best to steady the pitch in her voice as she pretended to wipe the table across the way.

"That's fine," Odagiri sighed. He was getting to her; she knew Koshino and something wasn't quite right. "I can just call his cell phone." Her head snapped up as he punched Shino's number into his cell and waited for the ring. Surprisingly enough, he heard it…and not just from the ear piece in his phone.

His eyes wandered towards the ring tone that filled the restaurant and settled on his frightened waitress, who was now wrestling to remove the apron that held the sounding device. _She has his phone…_She struggled awkwardly for a few moments and, having finally succeeded in turning off the volume, looked over at Odagiri, who had a very amused look on his face. She pulled off her apron forcefully and, noting that her replacement had shown up, sat in a huff in front of her now very curious charge. Thumping herself down on the bench before him, the frazzled and overworked young girl melted away, revealing a desperate and demanding young lady.

"He's my brother," she said finally. "We share an apartment upstairs. I don't know how he pissed you off or how much money he owes you, but don't bring that in here. I work to pay the rent and if you come around here, I'll lose my job. So whatever it is that's going on, take it somewhere else." She met his gaze, no longer fearful but strong, her jaw flexed with tension, prepared to fight whomever her brother had angered "Are we clear?" Odagiri's head snapped back towards her.

"Name," he said, quite at ease with that explanation.

"His name is Koshino Hiromi, and you oughta' know that." She stood from her chair and reattached her apron, preparing to head back to work.

"Not his," said Odagiri, "Yours." She stopped smoothing her apron and looked back at him.

"Koshino Azami," she stated shortly. "And you need to leave now." She walked back towards the kitchen, but stopped again as he spoke.

"Tell Koshino to come to the school tonight. We've got things to do." With that, Odagiri left the store, satisfied with all that had happened. He would wait behind the tree across from the store and watch Koshino leave, convinced that he was still somewhere inside and the others would meet Koshino at the school for some activity Yabuki would have to make up at the last minute. He just wanted to see Koshino leave that store.


	4. Chapter 4

Two hours later, Odagiri got what he wanted. Barely visible in the dim lights of the evening, Koshino sauntered out of the restaurant front; jacket in hand, hair loose, headed towards the school. Odagiri waited until Koshino as good distance away before he followed, taking his time and moving from shadow to shadow. It was all going fine until, out of an alley near the school, several unfriendly figures emerged. Chains, clubs and pipes at the ready, eight rather large men stepped out of the alley and directly in front of Koshino. Odagiri couldn't hear what was being said, but he knew it wasn't pleasant. _Eight…that's too many, _he thought. He glanced at his surroundings: 10 blocks from the school, three from Yankumi's place. Reaching into his pocket, he called Yabuki and told him to come, that something was going on, and Koshino was in trouble. The next person he called was Yankumi. If there was going to be a fight between students, she would have to know…and if they weren't students, they could use the help.

With his friends on the way, Odagiri walked with confidence towards the alley that blocked the altercation from view. He approached watchfully and quietly, wanting the element of surprise…and surprised is exactly what he got. The fight had started already, Koshino in the center of the group, taking a beating but fighting back with a surprising amount of skill. _Bloody lip already, bruised cheek _Odagiri noted. _Wait…_he thought, _white apron, hair down…_A cry escaped the victims lungs as a pipe landed across the back of her shoulders…_Her! _Odagiri panicked. _It's not Koshino! It's Azami!_

Odagiri dove in blindly, swinging and kicking at anything that had a weapon and a Y-chromosome. Azami recovered quickly from the blow and staggered to her feet. To the shock of all, she too dove back in. Odagiri watched out of the corner of his eye (mindful of those lunging at him) as the girl handled herself much like Yankumi; she dodged and caught punches, disarmed them of their weapons and threw them to the side. Several of her well-placed kicks made even Odagiri cringe. She had training…extensive training. It wasn't long before the two students had the situation under control. When Yankumi arrived at the scene, in the darkness she found eight unconscious thugs, one bloodied young girl and one very confused Odagiri.

He watched in awe and Yankumi watched expressionless as Koshino Azami transformed before their eyes into Koshino Hiromi. He…or she…Odagiri wasn't sure at all…quickly tied his hair back into a topknot and slung on his jacket, fastening the buttons with haste. Struggling again with the stubborn apron, Koshino directed his attention toward Odagiri.

"You called the others?" Koshino (Azami or Hiromi, he still wasn't sure) asked in a demanding tone.

"Eh?" Came the response.

"Did you call the others? Is Yabuki on his way here with the others?" shouted a decidedly feminine voice.

"Hai…any minute…what the hell is going on? What…what was that?!" Odagiri pointed at the lifeless forms on the ground. "And what are those!?" Yankumi knew he must have been in total shock because the Odagiri Ryu she knew would never point directly at a woman's chest as he just had.

_Damn, _thought Azami_. I forgot the chest plate. _

"And…and…and who the hell are you!?" Odagiri was getting louder and more confused by the minute. He had to calm down or there would be trouble. Yankumi jumped into action.

"Odagiri, call the others and tell them not to come! Tell them everything is fine!" His gaxe wandered in a daze, from Yankumi to Azami, his hands not moving toward his phone. Yankumi grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Yabuki, placing the phone to Odagiri's mouth. When Yabuki picked up and Odagiri remained speechless, staring at Koshino in wonder, Yankumi made the call herself.

"We're fine. I took care of it, no worries…He said there were eight guys…no, no he was exaggerating. Everything's fine. We'll hook up later tonight and I'll explain everything." Yankumi spoke to Yabuki in a calm voice but the look on her face clearly conveyed that she would not be explaining _everything_.

She hung up the phone and passed it back to its owner, who stared mouth agape at Koshino, who leaned casually up against the wall just outside the ally. Yankumi looked to Odagiri, then back at Koshino and sighed.

"I guess there's no avoiding it now. Go on and introduce yourself." Koshino pushed off the building and turned to face Odagiri.

"Koshino Azami," she said, bowing slightly. "Eighteen years old, student at Kurogin Gakuen." She paused for a moment and looked up. "Female."

Yabuki closed his phone and picked up the pace as he walked toward the location Odagiri had given him. Yankumi was a terrible liar and Odagiri never exaggerated. If he said there were eight guys, that's how many there were, and if something was up with Koshino, he wanted to know what it was.

The rest of 3D followed close behind in silence and expectation and they approached a dark alley of tense voices. Yabuki signaled the others to stay back as he approached and recognized his best friend, his teacher and his new classmate. He waited in the shadows, listening carefully to the conversation that, often in hindsight, he would wish he had never heard.


End file.
